Suffolk County, NY - November 7, 2017 - Suffolk County Community College’s Culinary Arts program students will prepare about 200 dinners for Community Action Southold Town’s (CAST) Greenport food pantry in what has become an annual and happy undertaking for the college’s culinary program and its students.
This is the first year Suffolk's Culinary program has worked with CAST, a not-for-profit that has worked in Southold Town since 1965 to help low-income residents meet basic needs in the areas of nutrition, employment, energy, and education. CAST exists as a safety net for Southold Town families from Laurel to Orient Point, including Fisher’s Island. The majority of CAST’s funding comes from the generosity of the community.
This marks the ninth year Suffolk County Community College students and faculty have happily volunteered their culinary expertise to support the holiday cooking.
The dinner preparation will take place on Wednesday, November 22, 2017 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts & Hospitality Center, 20 East Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901. Cooking and packaging the meals will run through to 12 noon.
"We celebrate Thanksgiving by cooking and sharing our favorite foods, being with the ones we love and giving thanks for all that we have. Our college and students, faculty and staff enjoy giving back to our community," said Suffolk County Community College President Dr. Shaun L. McKay.
About 40 students and faculty chefs from the college’s culinary program will prepare the meal whose ingredients are provided by CAST -- more than a 20 turkeys; 100 pounds of mashed potatoes; 50 pounds of sweet potatoes; 80 pounds of stuffing; 25 pounds of assorted vegetables and 20 each of apple and pumpkin pies. And, of course, gravy – more than 5 gallons of it!